User blog:BrickfilmNut/Synopsis Presentation 1
Recently, I was asked by Boba to, along with Jeyo, write the complete story for SoA. Jeyo, as well as Mvp, have been offline a little recently, so I have yet to be able to chat to them about something, but I'm bored and I guess I could use some external feedback now. Tiers 1-2 have been completed, with tier 3 dependent on the feedback (both external and team-wise) for what has currently been planned. Feel free to say what you like and what you do not like so far, as well as suggest options for some things that are currently a little vague. When making suggestions, however, please don't just respond based on what you'd like to see; be sure to strongly consider what you think a majority of fans would want. Finally, for further information, such as the prologue by Mvp and Jeyo and list of tier 3 worlds, please see here. Hub – Introduction The player, previously a not-too-serious explorer, wakes up with mild amnesia on the outskirts of the Hub, in a sort of cavern. At first, he has trouble understanding/remembering most of even the basics of his world, but quickly regains his memory on that, though he remains fuzzy on the time leading up to his amnesia. The player is discovered by another explorer by accident; the player is in a ditch, and the rescuer, from above, instructs the player on how to act in order to get himself out, teaching him the player’s basic abilities. Once out of the ditch, the player learns from the rescuer, who recognizes that he is an explorer based on the reports of one having gone missing, informs him a little bit on who he is and the characteristics of this part of Acrea. The two eventually come across another explorer under attack (or simply in trouble), and have to save him, teaching the player about combat (or another ability) in the game. The player’s courage leads his rescuer to suggest that he hone his skills at the Training Academy, and that he could be a big help to Acreans? as an experienced explorer, from which the player takes inspiration. The player goes to the Academy, where they systematically hone their skills in the programs offered by the Academy. As part of his training, the league leaders/organizers send him on various missions across the hub, allowing him to utilize the skills he is learning. During these missions, he meets a mythology expert (at a temple) and a communications coordinator working for the league, both of which will help him during later missions of his. Eventually, the player has saved enough money to buy their own glider, and has obtained their explorer’s badge (except with a less lame name…), which grants him access to league-owned locations and equipment throughout Acrea, as well as normally-restricted areas.* The player gets ready to fly off to explore the other worlds, but upon leaving, first encounters a couple of Inferion (or another small Korri-made species), foreshadowing the darkness and danger that awaits. *In order to gain more information and familiarity with regards to Acrea through the explorers, and in the additional hopes of earning their assistance in colonization, Acrean governments/organizations have passed laws giving trained individuals associated with certain leagues extra permissions normal minifigures would not have. Cave World After a few of the minifigures on the surface of the mining world are being attacked by the wildlife, the player must assist in fixing a few of the problems they have caused (as well as several other missions). This leads to the player being given access to the mines, as well as the proper equipment, to investigate why the monsters have been found in increasing numbers near the base. They go underground, digging and progressing further into the earth, and eventually find that a bigger monster, of a species normally living very deep in the world, has been driven by its home by an unknown cause.* The creature has been on a path of destruction in searching for a new habitat, which has been driving some of the other monsters towards the surface. The player also sees that it is on the path to one of the underground mining bases, and must therefore draw it away from its path and then subdue it with clever use of their equipment, else it make it to the base and cause mass destruction. Also on the surface of the mining world, but a moderate distance away from the base, are a few large drills/buildings. These are under attack by the Inferion, who see them as an obstacle and wish to eliminate them. The player must fight their way either to or up one of the towers, using futuristic equipment, in order to confront the demolition-themed boss. *The cause may be implied to be something of Korrighan’s doing. Castle World Upon arriving on this world, the player comes to the castle settlement and finds it under attack by the goblins, so he tries to help defend this. After this show of courage, the hero gets sent on a few missions, some of which involve going to the key conflict areas, where other knights and their vehicles can be found. The player comes across one of the leaders, with an interest in inventing, who befriends him and may perhaps help him with some of his magic. The player also hears from him that the goblins have stolen a power source? that could give the goblins a terrible edge. The player decides to try and retrieve it, and encounters Paladin as he journeys to find a way to infiltrate the goblins’ fortification. Paladin agrees to help and sends him on a few errands to prepare for the infiltration. This includes an errand to a resistant goblin village, where he hears about more of the Inferion near an ancient “haunted” castle whose ground floor has come to blend in with the cliffs in which it lies. Once they are ready for the infiltration, the hero and Paladin set off. The knights have already started a bombardment of the front gates, offering some useful distraction. At first, the player tries to use a secret entrance Paladin informed him about, giving the player a chance to get near the bombardment. However, it doesn’t work, so the player must journey to a (guarded and gated) goblin-controlled vantage point, from which they can glide into the castle. While all this has been happening, Paladin has snuck off into the castle already to set up distractions, meaning that the events the player partakes on could be repeated later without Paladin. Eventually, the player finds what they need, but is detected by the goblin leader and fights him; details of the boss fight have yet to be determined, but should use some sort of twisted technology the leader has been innovating. After emerging victorious, the player and Paladin are pursued by an unbeatable creature, and they must glide out of the fortress. Separately, on their own, the player finds the “haunted” castle, underneath which are terrible dungeons. Dark spirits underneath a mysterious shadowy force inhabit the creepy castle and manipulate the player’s environment in mild ways, and an equally-creepy Korrighan boss who can, perhaps among other things, animate the statues in the place (by enabling them to be possessed by dark spirits). This boss has been sent by Korrighan, who is hoping to maybe learn a bit about the force around the castle. Desert World The player arrives on the world in a part of the dunes where a sandstorm is occurring. The player journeys to try and find some sort of landmark, fighting Korrighan minions that attack them in the sandstorm, and face the Second in this storm for the first time. They keep journeying until they come across a small settlement located in a sort of hilly part of the world. The village obtains their water by growing large, genetically-engineered cacti-like plants, from which they can extract their water. The player visits the bazaar, where he attempts to help drive away some of the violent pests in that area. The player learns that there has been a giant sandworm infestation that’s been slowly coming nearer and nearer to the village, and that the scientists in the settlement have determined that it is likely the result of an abnormally large* sandworm queen that has sprung up, enabling the sandworms to thrive beyond normal levels, harming both the minifigure civilization as well as the general ecosystem. The player must journey, then, across the sandworm dunes in order to confront the giant sandworm and subdue it, which the minifigures hope will slow the damage. The minifigure makes the journey across the dunes, coming across a small encampment in the middle where some soldier NPCs are, wanting to establish an outpost in a larger scheme to launch an organized attack on the queen. After helping defend them from some Inferion (a break from the sandworms), the player continues to the queen’s location and defeats it. In the village, one of the quests the player was assigned would be retrieving a stolen ancient map of the world, including the caves, from some bandits. The player makes a copy of the map before returning it. They go to the caves, where the settlement minifigures collect crystals with some sort of good property (maybe staying away from energy, if crystals are used for the mining world). The cave is also home to many sandworm larvae. Using the map copy, the hero is able to distinguish a secret passage in the cave, leading to the interior of a large domed structure that, from the outside, can barely be seen as it is buried under sand. The exterior layers could perhaps contain a few crypts, to make it reminiscent of a pyramid, or perhaps statues of some Great Builders. They also come across a link while exiting, and accidentally visit the Dreaming, though they are not as in control as they would be in future excursions there. They meet Aralen very briefly, who is surprised but, in a position of need, quickly and worriedly asks him to journey into the central semisphere to stop Korrighan. This interior and largest layer, a full semisphere, contains a device which was rumored to have been used long ago by a past civilization to alter the climate of the world, something Korri and the Second think could be useful to them if they can develop it further. Jungle World Soon after arriving, the player encounters a couple of archeologists at a small shrine and helps them with… um, something small. Maybe disabling a trap? The archeologists also complain to the player about some river pirates who are trying to loot some of the artifacts before they can get to them. After journeying on, the player is initially confronted by the river pirates, but they soon back off after learning that he is not planning to arrest them, nor a member of a rival, more violent, menacing, and destructive band of raiders, about whom the player learns and (a fair bit later) fights. The pirates, despite backing off, hold the player’s glider at ransom until he helps them defeat their enemy. This leads the player to journey through the ruins lining the edge of the world, defending themselves from some of the mutated “guardian” creatures the past civilization had, a few ancient traps (not too many), and, later, the evil raiders’ and their traps/explosives. And as the player journeys further, the jungle gets denser and darker. The player, still on somewhat uneasy terms with the river pirates, may undertake a mission to discretely drive certain ones away from some damage they are unwittingly causing to the ruins. Along the way, the player may encounter a link or two, but will find themselves unable to use them at the moment. The player eventually finds the boss, who has kidnapped an archeologist to lead him to what he set his sights on. The boss prepares to destroy the exterior in order to find out the secrets, but the player appears and fights him, defeating him and taking his cutlass (or something else) to show the other pirates to prove his victory. The archaeologist tells the player about what’s inside the temple, and after overcoming a few traps inside, the player will obtain a tablet with ancient writing on it. The archaeologist will be unable to read it, but will remind the player of the mythology expert on the hub. The player retrieves their glider (upgraded by the pirates to show their satisfaction), and then flies off to meet the expert, learning from them how to access the Dreaming through the links. The player will then approach one of the earlier links and (after fighting the Second, who appears at this attempt) meets Sumara for the first time. Having heard from Aralen how the player helped him, Sumara tells the player that perhaps the Great Builders could work with him to stop Korrighan, but that the player must prove themselves first. She tells him about Korrighan’s minions’ new attempt to find an isolated, ancient stone outcropping on the outskirts, something Samura had made with Aralen and in which she stored a life-force that Korrighan would use on his army. She assigns the player with attacking the Inferion and their efforts to collect it. The player exits the Dreaming and goes through a different portion of the jungle. I imagine this part may be different in that it goes uphill a bit, gets rockier with more pools as it goes on, and that the life force in the water pouring from the outcropping has led to some very large trees at its base. Upon arriving here, the player attacks the Inferion, climbing up the outcropping and facing a climbing/swinging Korri boss closer to the top. After doing so, the player finds another link, and Sumara thanks him, saying that he may be the one who can help the Great Builders defeat Korrighan. Dino World Upon arriving, the player first visits the small minifigure research center, which has studied and captured some of the dino-like (not actual earth dinosaurs, but biologically the same idea) creatures found on the world. At this research center, the player can learn more about the world, purchase this world’s equipment, and perform missions relating to the research of the “dinosaurs”, perhaps such as retrieving one that has escaped. They learn that another group of scientists with a wealthy sponsor/leader have also been capturing dinosaurs, shipping them off somewhere on the edge of the island from the beach (a large part of this world is occupied by an ocean-like body of water). The scientists mention with dismay that these poachers have hub support (the good ones are independent), but have, unfortunately, been testing unethically on the dinosaurs, and have recently captured some of the world’s sentient, humanoid reptile population. The scientists hope that these captives can escape before they face harm, and the player decides to attempt to rescue them. To start off with, the player must journey to the poachers’ beach outpost and infiltrate it before hijacking one of their boats. And naturally, wherever the player journeys on this map, they’ll also have to contend with dinosaurs from time to time. After hijacking the boat, the player is free to look for where the captive species have been taken, navigating through several islands and occasionally fighting poacher boats. From one of the mainland links, the player also has been tasked by the Great Builders, who have now grouped together to meet the player at these links, in tests that require the player to retrieve certain dangerous plants from these islands, that, if Korrighan altered their genetic code, they feel could be quite disastrous. On one of these missions, the Second has found the player and attacks him with an Inferion pirate ship (or something). The player loses the plant this time despite defeating his creation, but the Great Builders are not too upset, understanding what the player is up against. The player eventually finds the location of the captives; a giant, mostly-submerged lab in which the sponsor has been performing the mutations on the creatures. The player infiltrates it and, in response, the sponsor lets some of her mutations out on the player, though they are able to overcome them. They battle their way forward, eventually finding the sentient captives. They battle the boss (either the sponsor after an accidental mutation or simply one particularly deadly creation of hers) and can escape. The Korrighan subplot on this world involves a large-scale Korrighan attack on the sentient lizard population’s home in the northern forests, with the boss being one of his army’s generals. Dark Forest World (Note: This one is more detailed than most of the rest due to already having been mostly written separately before.) The player starts out on the edge of the island, and, after a little bit of walking, comes across a small communications outpost there, established so that the settlement can remain in contact with the hub world. One of the main paths through the forest is blocked by a gate controlled by the outpost, so the player talks with the sole worker there. He is busy fixing some of the equipment after the outpost was attacked by the wildlife, and asks the player to help fix the transmission tower as he works on the power supplier. After they finish the quest and he gives them the code; he also tells the player to be on the lookout for not only the wildlife, but also the Knights of the Forest, whom he calls “the bandits”, as they will likely attack the player in the hopes of stealing some of his belongings. Sure enough, as the player goes on his way, they are attacked by the Knights, but they eventually make their way to the main settlement. There, the Guardsmen are fending off some wolves (actually influenced by the Doekkanda) who have been attacking the gates, and one of the guards asks the player to defeat a certain number of these wolves. After the player does so, they receive a reward and information on the location of the secret entrance. After entering the village, the player does several upkeep missions for the inhabitants. One of the ones includes, after being granted an axe, being sent out to chop down trees for firewood. The axe would be the only weapon used to break the trees that would yield “wood” to pick up. In addition to being part of the mission, wood the player gathers later could be used to craft items. Another mission could be some errand relating to the dwarves. By meeting with them, the player could choose to take a break from the village missions and focus on the Korri subplot for a while instead, but more on that later. After a while, the player is sent out on a mission to check on an expedition deeper in the forest to set up a small fort. First, they encounter some scouts under attack by the bandits, who want to steal some of the resources they have been transporting. One of the scouts is injured, but in stable condition, so the NPCs can remain in the same place all the time with a reasonable explanation: they’re caring for the wounded scout. Finally, they come across the expedition, which is under attack by the Doekkanda and Knights on a larger scale than the village was, so the quests one performs there are more action-orientated and involve defending the workers. After this, the player is finally told the story of what happened and goes in search for the Knights’ home, an ancient stone structure into which they have built their buildings. There, they fight the Knights and face off against the boss, the leader of the Knights. He is the main non-Korri boss. (Somewhere between the events of the above and below paragraph, the Great Builders have given the player a second-final test.) Meanwhile, the Inferion have been looking for some artifact buried in the mountain, and have as such came in contact with the dwarves, who live on the mountain and, to a lesser extent, mine within it. The player helps defend the dwarves from the Inferion, and, seeing a link in their temple-- this is as far as the story goes so far. I need to discuss something with Jeyo and/or Mvp at this point, but something along the lines of the following may happen. Korri gains a major edge, the Great Builders are discouraged, but the player decides to confront Korri in order to stop him, and the Great Builders, after some reluctance, offer their support. Notes *One character I was hoping to include, but haven't found a way to yet, is a mildly-famous explorer that the player encounters and works with briefly, but I have yet to decide on the details. If you have ideas for this, feel free to suggest them as well. Category:Blog posts